Umag, 27 July 2022 – Italian Jannik Sinner, the second-seeded player at this year's Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag tournament, passed through to the quarterfinals without losing a single set, proving himself to be one of the main contenders for winning the title. He defeated Jaume Munar (59th at the current ATP list) 6:4, 6:4, but the former third best junior player in the world wasn't easy to beat.  The scenarios were similar in both sets: Sinner would score a break point early, and then lose this advantage. However, in the second portion of the set he would quickly win back a game at his opponent's serve and maintain the lead, but not without without some drama right before the end. At 5:4 it was his turn to serve for the win, but he had to save two break points, and in the end he used as many as six match points.  “I was a bit tense at the beginning, which led to some unforced errors, but overall I’m pleased with how the match turned out. I managed to try a few things that we had worked on at the practices. The atmosphere was amazing, it felt like home,” said Sinner, who faces yet another Spanish player on Friday,  Roberto Carballés Baena, who defeated the fifth seeded player, Slovak Alex Molčan, with 3:6, 6:2, 6:3.   In other matches, third seeded Holger Rune continued his series of defeats which has been following him since he qualified for the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. The Dane’s seventh defeat in a row, losing 3:6, 6:3, 6:2 to Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles, helped the Spaniard reach his first quarterfinals of an ATP tournament in his career.  Rune had played their only previous match against one another extremely well, winning 6:0, 6:0 in Metz last year. He started this match well enough, winning the first set, but then the Spaniard dialed up the quality of his game, made runs to return even the most demanding shots, and managed to turn the match around.  When it comes to the doubles tournament, Croatia’s two pairs will play the quarterfinals, having passed through in different ways. Franko Škugor and Antonio Šančić defeated Alex Molčan and Igor Zelenay 4:6, 7:6 (4), 10:3 in a nail-biting battle, where the Slovak pair needed only two points to win at 5:4 in the second set. The Croatian duo started the third set with a 6:0 lead, and they will face the top seeded pair, Italy’s Bolelli and Fognini. Mili Poljičak and Nino Serdarušić passed through without setting foot on the court, since Italy's Musetti and Spain's Zapata Miralles had to forfeit due to stomach issues suffered by Musetti. They will face UK’s Glasspool and Finland’s Heliovaara.  The programme continues on Thursday, when the top seeded player and returning champion, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, plays his first match in Umag this year. He faces Slovak Norbert Gombos in the second round.